Merry Christmas

One quick blog before families get together to celebrate the holidays.

Christmas and New Years for me is all about reflecting and renewal. Looking back on goals I've achieved, and the ones I haven't, and dreaming of what can be.

But more importantly it's about kids laughing  and playing in the snow and older folks joining them trying to soak in the sights and sounds of it all and wishing it would never end.
It's about warming up by the bonfire and sharing some laughs before trekking back up the hill, fixing mitts or wiping snow off someone's face after a wipeout.
It's about family gathering around the table breaking bread and raising a glass of Christmas cheer.

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us here at Design by Desire.

 

Homemade Port/Orange Cranberry Sauce

Most people don't think about making their own cranberry sauce, but it is quite easy and tastes fantastic, and the aroma of the orange and port will give your home that cosy warm holiday feeling.

1 Orange
12 oz Sugar
150 ml Port (I use a late bottled vintage port)
24 oz Cranberries Fresh Picked Dry or Frozen


Finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice.
Dissolve the sugar in a medium pan with the port and orange juice.
Stir in the cranberries and orange rind and cook for 30-40 minutes until fruit is soft and the juices are slightly thickened.  The cranberries will start to pop.

If you like chunks of cranberry in your sauce be gentle when stirring. If you like it smooth, beat the berries up or pulse it with a wand.  It took me a few times, and a few port tastings, to get the flavors right.

 

Holiday Bar Entertaining

If you're planning a cocktail party, prep your home with must-have spirits, cocktail ingredients and garnishes to make sure you have everything you need to keep drinks flowing and guests entertained.
When throwing a cocktail party, it's essential to prepare you home bar. Here's advice on how to make sure your bar is well stocked and ready to serve:

• Shop for your Cocktail Party a few days before your event date.
• Follow your taste buds to the produce section of your local grocery store or farmers' market, and experiment with new fruits and vegetables in your favorite classic cocktails
• Find a signature drink to serve at your party and find out the history of that cocktail and share it with your friends. All bartenders are story tellers.
• Make cocktails in batches. To serve a crowd, break the drink recipe into cups for a pitcher. A pitcher typically serves 20 drinks that are 4 ounces each. Multiply your ounces by two and turn into cups. Always make sure to taste as you batch for quality control.
• Buy enough beer and wine. While special cocktails can be a hit, beer and wine are often what people reach for at a cocktail party. A few tips to keep in mind when shopping for wine and beer:

Each guest drinking beer with likely consume one 12oz bottle per hour for the duration of the party. Try buying a mix of domestic brews and local micro brews. Each guest drinking wine will consume one 5 oz glass of wine per hour for the duration of the party. There are approximately five glasses of wine per bottle.

Have fun with your home bar. Cocktails are meant for celebrations to create good memories with your friends and family.Know you guests and ensure your bar is stocked with what they like to drink. Make them special and taken care of.

Buy enough ice, Have you ever tried to drink a cocktail and it's only got two half melted ice floating on the top and is barely cold. It tends to ruin a great thing. You should have 2.5 pounds of ice for every person at your party. If you plan to have an ice bucket or nice stainless buckets filled for your white wines and beers to keep chilled buy enough extra ice to fill those as well. Remember your ice bucket and displays will sit out and melt don't forget to account for that.

Try this drink recipe for a signature cocktail for the night:

Orange juice and cranberries lend a bit of Festive Flair to this classic Gin & Tonic(or if you like Vodka & Soda) making it a perfect holiday cocktail.

Orange - Cranberry Gin & Tonic

5oz ice

1oz Gin

1.5oz OJ
3.5oz Tonic
Garnish with a few frozen cranberries and a twist of orange rind.

Holiday Dinner Planning

With Christmas just around (that's right I said it), I'd like to share a few tips and tricks that will help you pull off a great Christmas dinner. Organization and planning are the keys. If you spread the work over a few days you will be able to enjoy yourself.

1. Take the time to plan now before the hustle and bustle of the season is upon you.

2. Make a list and check it twice: food, beverages, seating. Review a week before the big day.

3. Grocery shop a few days before. If you can't find an ingredient this gives you time to look around for it. Don't forget a frozen turkey takes a few days to thaw.

4. Ask for help if you are cooking for a lot of people. Or hire a caterer, (like Design by Desire).

5. Make whatever food you can the day before. Dressing does not need to be cooked in the bird and is always better the next day.

6. The day of the dinner, do as much early morning prep as you can, when it's time to cook later, you can keep an eye on the time, not your cutting board.

7. Let your turkey rest before you carve it, about 20 minutes. By doing this, the juices, which have been driven to the centre of the meat can redistribute and be reabsorbed. The meat will lose less juice when you cut it and be far more tender. This also gives you a chance to make sure everything will be ready at the same time and pour yourself a wine (if you don't have one going already).

A little planning and forethought goes a long way, and will take a bit of the stress of the holidays away, unless you are the Griswold's, then all bets are off.

Hot Chocolate 101

When the weather starts to get that crisp cold feeling in the air and your looking for something to warm you up after you have raked all your leaves off the lawn, nothing is more satisfying then Hot Chocolate.  So get some good-quality chocolate and make the real deal—you’ll thank me.

For this recipe, use high-end chocolate, I use Callebaut milk and dark  61% chocolate so that you get a rich chocolate flavor with no bitterness. I actually found these 8 oz blocks of chocolate at IGA Market Place.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 T of Cocoa powder

1. Combine milk and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until simmering, about 4 minutes.
2. Add chocolate and whisk until completely melted and well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and serve immediately. This serves 2 cups. 

My wife usually makes this a day ahead of time and serves it for dessert on occasion. She just triples the recipe and likes to serve it in a china teapot with tea cups which is the perfect size for this delicious decadent treat. Serve it with shaved chocolate pieces, mini marshmallows or chocolate cups filled with liquors. The possibilities are endless.

Tequila Prawns

This week I've paired a great BC Wine, Stoneboat Pinot Gris, with a favorite of mine, Tequila Prawns.

Stoneboat Winery is located just down the road from Burrowing Owl in Oliver on the Black Sage bench.










The crisp acidity of the Pinot Gris matches well with the lime and Tequila sauce.

 

 

 

 

Tequila Prawns

15 ml Butter

3 cloves of Garlic

1/2 pound Prawns, deveined and tailed

1/2 cup snow peas

1/2 cup red pepper

30 ml chopped fresh basil

15 ml of fresh parsley

90 ml of Tequila

Zest and juice of one lime

Heat the butter in a medium fry pan and sauté the garlic for one minute

Add the prawns, snow peas, peppers, basil and parsley
Stir fry for five minutes until the prawns are pink and the vegetables are soft
Add the tequila, lime zest and juice and simmer for one minute
Serve over rice

Raw to Sweet

Unlike garlic, changing the intensity of onion is less a matter of how much you use or how you cut it or a matter of how you cook it. If your like my wife and think that the taste of onions have too sharp and astringent flavour, then I urge you to give them another chance. Here is a recipe that I use all the time for catering. This will make any hater of onions fall in love.

Ingredients:
          90 ml           Vegetable oil
          30 ml           butter
          2 lbs            onions thinly sliced (1/16 slice)
          90 ml           white sugar
          10 ml           thyme
          2 fl oz           white vinegar
          5 ml             course black pepper
          5 ml             kosher salt

          

Heat the oil and butter in a pan, add the onions, white sugar, thyme and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Stir them every few minutes until the edges of the onion start to soften and the middles turn translucent. At this point, the pungent onion flavour is gone, leaving behind a mild sweetness.  Then add the vinegar and cook for 10min. Cook until the onions start to turn brown, you'll notice nutty and caramel flavours starting to emerge. They will gradually brown, becoming completely limp and even start to disintegrate. Once cooked, the onions no longer have an upfront in-your-face flavor. They caramelize and taste sweeter the longer you cook them. Remove from the heat and add the salt and pepper for seasoning. Then cool.

Now these onions will blend into the background and create a base for the rest of the flavors that you add to any dish. One canape that we make is a Seared AAA Ribeye Beef with Roasted Onion Jam and Black Truffle Tapenade.

Applewood Smoked Garlic

I recently bought a Smoker, I am always wanting to experment with foods and have always had a passion for smoked meats. Wanting to try something out of the box I decided last weekend to experiment with garlic. I took about 25 bulbs of garlic and just cut off the tops exposing the heads of garlic just slightly. I poured Virgin Olive Oil on the tops and sides and then layered them on my wire racks. I placed these in my smoker at 250 degrees for about 2 hours.

 The end result is these beautiful golden heads of garlic with cloves that come out golden brown, soft and sweet smoky texture. I pulled the cloves out of the bulbs and placed in a food processor. I then pureed the garlic. Spread this on a toasted baguette with a slice of brie cheese. So simple and so easy. I pulled from my Osoyoos trip a bottle from Church and State a Cabernet Franc, full, rich and silky texture. Ripe dark fruits of cassis, cedar and cigar box pairs perfectly with the smoky flavours of the garlic.

Coffee, my addiction. 

If I had only one beverage to drink the rest of my life, I would choose coffee. 

It’s soothing and delicious.  It’s social.

There are lots of articles online that pair coffee with everything from spicy Cajun or Thai food to glazed ham.  All good I’m sure, but personally I like my coffee with dessert, specifically biscotti.  They just go hand in hand.

There is nothing like freshly grinding your favorite bean and brewing up coffee in a French press after a great meal with family and friends.  And a little something to satisfy your sweet tooth.

The aroma fills the room and mixes with the conversation and laughter.

Biscotti, to me, is the quintessential pairing with coffee.  Kind of a cake-cookie combo.

If you want to be a rock star, pre-make the loaf and put it in the oven right after dinner.  It takes about an hour to bake, just in time for coffee.

 You can dip it or not.

2 Cups Pistachios (roasted)

3 ½ Cups Flour

4 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 ½ Cup Sugar

1 Cup Soft Butter

1 Tbsp Vanilla

4 Eggs

Lay the pistachios on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven at 300 for 12 minutes, until fragrant, set aside
Combine the dry ingredients and set aside
Cream butter and sugar
Add vanilla
Mix in the eggs one at a time
Combine wet and dry ingredients
Add pistachios
Form a loaf
Bake at 325 convection for about  45-60 minutes until golden brown, let loaf cool while coffee is brewing.

Place the loaf on a cutting board and slice it at the table.
A perfect end, or beginning to your evening.

Burgers and Innis and Gunn

Even though it's September, the weather is still fantastic for grilling outside. With the leaves changing and the nights cooling off you know autumn is around the corner. One of my favorite dishes to BBQ at this time of year is a Blue Cheese Burger. It’s still summery with a feel of comfort food.

Angus beef mixed with melted chunks of blue cheese on a fresh toasted Kaiser bun and an Innis and Gunn to wash it down. I'll also throw on some garlic roasted nugget potatoes.

The Beer
Innis and Gunn is a Scottish, hand-crafted oak aged beer. It is matured in oak barrels for 77 days which gives it flavors of toffee, vanilla and oak on top of the beers natural malt and fruity hop notes. It's a perfect complement to the gooey blue cheese in the burger.

You pay for quality. Innis and Gunn is only sold by the bottle. I like to drink it out of a pilsner glass so I can get the full aroma and taste. It's a cold beer, but it warms your soul.

The Burger
1-1/2 pounds Angus beef

3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (leave the salt out if your cheese is salty)
6 Kaiser Buns

1. In a large bowl, mix the Angus beef, blue cheese,    chives, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and salt. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat grill for high heat. Gently form the burger mixture into about 6 patties.
3. Grill patties 8-10 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
4. When the burgers are resting, warm the buns on the BBQ and grab the garlic roasted potatoes.

I like to change up the toppings, but I keep condiments to a minimum because these burgers are so flavourful, sometimes it's a thick ring of red or Spanish onion, other times I'll slice up an avocado.
Bacon, yes please!

The Spuds
2 pounds of nugget potatoes (new, golden or red)
3 tbsp Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Kosher (or to taste)

1. Boil the potatoes until they are about 80% cooked.
2. Drain and cool until they can be handled and cut them in half.
3. In a large bowl, combine the oil, garlic and salt then toss in the nuggets
4. Place the potatoes cut side down in a pan that can go on the BBQ. It will have to be small enough so that you still can cook your burgers.
The potatoes take about 40 minutes to get crispy so I start them first then put my burgers on after 20 minutes.

The great thing about nuggets is that they keep their shape once cooked and cut. They are also sweeter because their sugar has not yet converted into starch.

Beer Battered Fish and Chips

                                                               

Hello I know it has been awhile, but we have been having a crazy summer between the kids and all the weddings not to mention the Restaurant Consulting.  I have finally have found time to sit-down and write again.

This year was a big learning curve for me to learn about great comfort food with awesome flavor and a twist. I felt the need to learn about the simple things again and  to go back to the basics and then to take it up a notch by finding something I could do even better to some new recipes I created this year.

So I have to begin to tell you about my favorite comfort food fish & chips. Through out this past year when I was out, I would frequently hit up a pub and one of my favorite things to order at a pub is fish and chips. Up until now I have not tried to make fish and chips at home as I don't have a deep fryer that could be used. It had been too long since I last had fish and chips and I was craving it. It was time to try making fish and chips at home!

I had seen the fish described as being beer battered on several menus and I wanted to try making beer battered fish. I went with cod for the fish but you could use pretty much any white fish such as haddock or halibut, etc. For the beer I went with Guinness and it gave the batter a nice dark color. It is very easy to make Guinness battered cod you can do it too! The batter was nice and light and crispy and the fish was moist and tender and so good! To complete the pub fish and chips experience, I serve the fish with chips, coleslaw, tarter sauce, lemons slices and of course a pint of Guinness.

Ingredients:
1 bottle beer
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg(lightly beaten)
1 pound cod fillets (or halibut, or haddock, etc, cut into serving sized pieces)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
oil for frying

Directions:
1. Mix the beer, flour, baking powder, salt and egg into a batter in a bowl.
2. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
3. Dredge the fish in some flour and shake off any excess.
4. Dip the fish into the batter.
5. Fry the fish in preheated 375 Fahrenheit until cooked, about 4-5 minutes.

Sit back have a cold pint and enjoy one of my favorite comfort foods.

Tea Smoked Chicken

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon five-spice powder

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/4 cup white rice

3 tablespoon Chinese black tea

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons medium-dry sherry

2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably dark

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

5 scallions (white and green), thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/2 head iceberg lettuce

Sriracha sauce or other Asian chili sauce, to taste

Juice of 1/2 lime

Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Cool slightly, and then crush in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle with the salt and five-spice powder until very fine. Rub seasoned salt all over the chicken thighs. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Bring the chicken to room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking.

Line the bottom of a wok, skillet or heavy pot with a double layer of aluminum foil. Mix the rice, tea and brown sugar together and mound on the foil. Set a steamer on top, and evenly space the chicken on the rack. Cover and cook over high heat. Hot smoke the chicken until smokey-brown colored and cooked through, about 12 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, whisk the sherry, soy, ginger, and sesame together in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, remove from heat and steep for 5 minutes. Brush over cooked chicken.

To serve: Dice the chicken into very small pieces. Toss with the scallions and peanuts in a medium bowl. Cut the lettuce leaves into 40 squares or triangular scoops. Place a drop of Sriracha on top of each lettuce cup, and top with about 2 teaspoons of the diced chicken. Squeeze lime juice over the top, and drizzle the remaining soy-ginger sauce over the chicken. Serve.

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year to all. Hope 2012 will bring you lots of joy, great health and good food.

What do you plan to eat more in 2012? I suggest putting your focus on whole, real foods instead of seeking out the next big superfood or eating diet.

IN: Real Butter. OUT: Margarine.

IN: Whole eggs, cage free. OUT: Egg Whites.

IN: Grass-fed meats. OUT: Processed soy protein.

IN: Sea salt. OUT: Low sodium.

IN: Healthy Fats. OUT: Fat free.

IN: Farmstead cheese. OUT: Processed factory cheese.

IN: The Family Dinner. OUT: Activities trumping meal time.

IN: Fresh produce. OUT: Excessive supplements.

IN: Portion Control. OUT: Elimination Diets.

Just some food for thought. I know that I really want to change my habits and those of my family. So begins the change....How about you?